Westside Digest

Beverly Hills : 10% Ceiling on Rent Hikes OKd

The City Council on Tuesday formally approved an annual 10% ceiling on rent increases.

Before its 4-0 vote, the council expanded the ordinance to include duplexes after tenants complained about being excluded from previous rent controls.

Officials estimated that 4,500 of the city's 8,263 rental units will be affected by the new law, which originally had been limited to complexes with three or more units.

In June, the council approved a moratorium on rent increases that will end Nov. 7, when the ordinance will officially take effect. Under the new law, however, landlords must give tenants 60 days' notice of a rent hike, so an increase could not be imposed until Jan. 7, said Fred Cunningham, city director of public affairs.

The 10% rent increase, which is considered too low by small-apartment owners and too high by tenant groups, was intended to tighten the city's 7-year-old rent control ordinance. Under that law, the city's biggest landlord, Donald T. Sterling, tried to raise the rent of 120 tenants by at least 30% in June. The council responded by passing the moratorium.